Praying Medic's Blog, page 114

To Every Messenger a Message

God has taught me a principle that helps me deal with criticism and praise from those who read my messages. It’s a bit of personal instruction He offered to help me see my efforts to advance the kingdom the way He sees them. Maybe it will help you see yours in the same light.

We’re all given messages from God to deliver to others. While every Christian has the same King, and we’re all asked to bear witness of Him to the world, the way in which we do it is unique. Your message and mine are not the same. Some of us are called as healers, some as writers, some as pastors, and others fix cars and teach their children about Jesus.  Every believer has a unique set of messages to deliver, and every message has an audience.

One of the problems I struggled with for years was knowing how I would tell people about Jesus. One day God said to me, “I’ll show you what’s wrong with your patients. You pray, and I’ll heal them.” I’d be willing to bet that none of the 6 billion people on earth have received that exact same message. You have a message or two from God that are unique, just as mine are unique to me.

God has given me a number of different messages. I have a journal where I write them all down. When time allows, I write them up and post them on my blogs. My blogs allow the people who are interested in my messages to access them whenever they want. The blog followers are the audience God has provided for the messages He gives me. Not everyone is able to deliver their messages through a blog. I have my way to deliver my messages and you have your way. The way in which a message is delivered is unique to each messenger.

When I write a blog post, I try to limit myself to only those subjects that God has authorized me to speak on. When we’re obedient to speak only the messages He gives us, to the audiences He provides, the ones who hear the messages are likely to receive them with gladness and they’ll bear fruit. When I want to give my audience a message I haven’t received from God, I recruit someone else to deliver their message on my blog. In this way, I’m able to provide my readers with a variety of topics, without going outside the authorization and revelation God has given me.

My messages have critics who occasionally post negative comments. Thankfully, God showed me how to deal with them. In a dream, people were leaving comments on the things I posted. Most of the comments were positive, but a few were negative. In the dream, I knew I had to keep posting my messages for the sake of those who were blessed by them. I didn’t let the critics get me down, and neither should you.

What is My Message?

One of the problems is knowing what God has authorized us to speak on. Sometimes the issues we’re authorized to speak on are given to us as passions that we have for certain subjects. Generally, your message will be on the subjects that God speaks to you about in your conversations with Him. I should give you fair warning: The subjects of these conversations are not always dictated by Him. I’ve been surprised at how talkative He can be and how much instruction He’s willing to provide on subjects that I’ve brought up. Some of the information I’ve received has been for my benefit only. I don’t always receive permission to speak on these subjects, publicly.

Knowing which subjects you’ve been given grace to speak on (and which ones you haven’t) is critical to reaching the audience He’s prepared. It also determines whether your message will bear fruit. While it may be tempting to speak on an issue out of what we understand about it from our personal experiences, it’s best to speak from revelation we’ve receive directly from God. He can tailor our message so that it addresses the issue from His perspective, expresses His heart, and makes a positive impact on the audience who hears us. There are many subjects we might be authorized to speak on. You may or may not be called to speak on healing, but I  know it’s one of my messages. You may be called to speak on abortion, while I may have no personal revelation from God on that issue. Whether we have authorization from God to speak on an issue does not make it any more or less important to God. We should avoid thinking that a subject is less important because God has not authorized us to speak on it.

Who is My Audience?

The other problem is speaking the right message but delivering it to the wrong audience. I have many friends who engage in heated debates on a daily basis, simply because they haven’t realized that their message is not intended for a universal audience. They believe it’s imperative for everyone to receive their message, but in reality, God has prepared the hearts of certain people who will receive their message and bear fruit from it. The two keys to bearing good fruit as a messenger are knowing your message and recognizing its intended audience.  Generally, you know you’ve found an audience with ears to hear when your message is received well by those who hear it. That’s not to say we should never expect resistance if we’re delivering our message to its intended audience. A skeptic, who is actually part of the intended audience, may initially resist your message. God may try to persuade them to consider a different point of view through your message. Over time, their heart may soften and they may develop hears to hear your message. But if hostility, rejection and quarreling are things you continually face, you may need to re-evaluate your message or the audience you’re trying to reach. The apostle Paul was convinced that he was called to preach to the Jews, but God’s intended audience for him was the Gentiles. His was a case of having the right message, but delivering it to the wrong audience.

I don’t know what messages you’re called to deliver and I don’t know your audience. That’s between you and God. All I can do is urge you to ask Him for the message He wants you to deliver. Once you have your message, trust that He will provide an audience who will receive it—no matter how small they might be. Some are called to speak to millions, some to thousands, and some, to only a handful of people. The size of your audience isn’t important. What matters is your obedience to God. If you obey, you and your message will bear much fruit.

Related:

Authority – How Does it Work?

Are You Authorized?

Who Are You?

My guest blogger today is Rob Coscia. This message was originally posted here.

Several years ago, I was writing a chapter for a compilation book, and was getting frustrated trying to edit it down to the required length. This was my first opportunity to have anything published, and I was letting the pressure get to me. I wanted so badly to write, and felt like I had hit a wall and was going to fail at one of the things I desired most. The stress pulled judgments I had about myself to the surface.  They hit me in cold waves:

“You never could write, and you never will.”

“Nothing you do is good enough.”

“You’re a failure.”

I shut my laptop hard and was about to walk out of the room in angry self-pity, when a nearly audible voice said to my heart, “Who are you?”

A different kind of wave came over me. I realized God was giving me a choice. I could speak out of the frustration, self-pity, and my fears of failing, or I could speak out of who I knew I could be in Him, out of the love I was feeling from Him.  I closed my eyes, took a breath, and said, “I am a writer.”

“Yes, you are. So write.”

So…who are you?

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are His workmanship, created in Jesus Christ for acts of goodness”. That word “workmanship” is “poiema”, and it’s where we get our word “poem”. You are God’s creation, His written masterpiece.  Jeremiah 31:33 says “I will put My instructions in their minds, and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people.” Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3, “Your life demonstrates that you are a letter from Christ…written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on your hearts.”

You are brilliant. Beyond amazing. You are a physical, emotional, and spiritual expression of the love, grace, joy, peace, and wisdom of God. Your personality, your identity, is unique and powerful. Your life is a demonstration of particular and important parts of God’s character and nature to the world.

Who do you say that you are?

We live in a cynical culture, in a cynical world. It can be hard to live in the truth of who you are in Christ when everyone around you wants you to wear a mask and perform to fulfill their expectations… Including church. You are bombarded by negativity, insincerity, and voices from your past failures. When you do have a moment of clarity, joy, or peace with God, it can take all you’ve got just to recognize it, much less stay in it. The brilliance of who He is for you, and who you are in Him, gets reduced to a shadow.

Jesus said, “Unless you turn your thinking around and are transformed to become like a child, you have no part in the kingdom of God” (Matt. 18:3).  A healthy child- a healthy identity- lives in wonder. He or she sees life on a deeper, more powerful level. Your truest self lives in such awareness of God’s presence that the barriers between the natural and supernatural become thin, far thinner than the masks you sometimes wear. An identity in alignment with the Spirit of God sees what is possible, not just in the people and circumstances around you, but in yourself.

Much of my life I’ve been susceptible to being sucked into self-pity, but the wonder of God’s presence has helped me to get past cynicism, negativity, and pain, to see who I am in Him. People have told me they have been encouraged by how they saw I dealt with cancer. Anything good that came out of that part of my journey was an overflow of the awe and joy of being in His presence. It came from knowing that God was far greater than anything I was facing. It came from allowing God to nurture my identity in the awe of who He is, of who He is for me. It came from being grateful for every moment I had to experience that awe and wonder.

If you resent where your life is right now, anxiety and frustration become your normal way of processing life and relating to others.  You see only the negative, and the shadow-self takes over. Your real identity wants to come forth, but you have to realize that resenting your life is a judgment, sometimes rooted in blaming others for your troubles, but often against yourself, for opportunities missed or failed.  That judgment stays with you. That’s why you see some people who have money that are just miserable. Their judgments make it impossible to be content. In their minds, there is never enough, and what they do have is always in danger of being taken away.  Others move from place to place, but instead of feeling more free, it just adds more baggage. But that is not your true personality. That is not who God sees you can become.

I ask you one more time- who are you?

What declarations will you make over yourself today? Will you curse yourself with things like “I’m so stupid” and “I hate my life”? Are you going to limit yourself with things like “Nothing good ever happens to me”, and “I wish I had their life”? Or, are you going to agree with who God says that you are? Are you going to bless yourself and everyone else around you by choosing to think and live in God’s love, grace, peace, joy, wisdom, and favor toward you?

When you have a moment alone, thank Jesus for your life. Ask Him to break off every curse, every negative thing you’ve spoken over yourself, and to forgive you for everything negative thing you’ve done out of that old life. Ask Him to forgive you for judging circumstances and people from your pain, and to fill your heart and mind with His presence. Ask Him to show you how brilliantly He sees you. Receive it. Agree with it. Then bless what you see. Bless yourself spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally, financially. Bless your life to come into alignment with what He shows you is possible, then take whatever steps are needed to go there.  Bless others. Everyone. Love, encourage, and support those closest to you, and those you’ve just met. Bless where you live. Bless every home, store, school, and church you drive by. Bless your job, or your search for one.  Bless everyone around you by being the best version of yourself. Instead of rejecting yourself in cynicism and fear, God is inviting you to accept who He has made you to be in joy and love. From there, He can get you ready to move anywhere or do anything, whole, happy, and free.

“Forget what is behind you. Do not dwell on the past! Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:19)

Mom Prays & Dead Son Comes Back to Life

This story was originally posted on USA Today here. ”

He was dead for 45 minutes.” That’s what the doctor who treated 14-year-old John Smith said after paramedics rescued the teen who spent 15 minutes submerged in an icy lake. Dr. Kent Sutterer and his team performed CPR on John for 27 minutes with no success.

The question was raised: how long should they continue? His mother then came into the room and started praying loudly. What happened next, defies explanation.

“I don’t remember what all I said,” recalls John’s mother, Joyce Smith. “But I remember, ‘Holy God, please send your Holy Spirit to save my son. I want my son, please save him,'” she said. “They hadn’t been getting a pulse at that time, so all of a sudden I heard them saying, ‘We got a pulse, we got a pulse.'”

His heart restarted. Doctors were worried how much brain function he would have, but at this point it doesn’t seem like there will be a problem. He’s recovering, walking and getting physical therapy. Dr. Garrett said, “It’s a bonafide miracle.”

Happy Birthday Fearless Trust

Editor’s note: Cheriann Riley is a friend who instills the kingdom of God in her daughter in every possible way. She is so intent on establishing her daughter’s true identity, that she named her Fearless Trust. This is a letter she wrote to her daughter:

A letter to my Fearless Trust on her fourth birthday:

Beautiful one,

You’re four years old today. You won’t be able to read this for awhile, but that’s not gonna stop me from writing it.

I am so in Love with you. I am amazed with my jaw on the floor multiple times every day by you. Dad uses you to show me what Love really is like. You already partner with Him so much in dashing any wrongful beliefs I have about what Love is like or about fear. Thank you. Keep it up.

Because Dad uses you to teach me so much about Love, I get humbled by how little I know about Love and constantly reminded I am still learning. I am honored he uses you to teach me about Love, I’m not threatened by that, I embrace that. It’s brilliant.

Thank you for being you. You have no idea how beautiful you are inside and out. You are a huge set of walking miracles, plural. I love your heart and spirit and inspired by it.

One thing I really want you to know, I am most honored every time I get to serve you in some way. You’ll understand later how rare it is that an older generation realizes and walks out serving the younger generation and that is the way it is supposed to be in the beginning. You can’t serve unless you have been served. You can’t honor unless you have been honored. You can’t respect until you have been respected.

What an honor it is that I was chosen to serve you, to sow into you, to bless you. I know you study that and watch that and then you do back to me what I first did for you. And then I cry tears of joy. Not because of what you did for me, but because I know you are understanding and getting this and you’re gonna take that foundation to generations beyond what I can touch myself. We’re creating a legacy of honor, respect, excellence and it’s generational blessings that will reap so much in interest on top of what was sown. The legacy of true Love will grow and not be broken. It’s a good foundation on Dad that will stand the test of time, because Love wins.

You must know that I will ever be proud of you and that will never change. It’s not based on what you do so it can never be broken by anything you do ever.

I have made mistakes and will continue making them. I’m not Dad. I’m never gonna claim to be. What I can say is that I will own up to them, I will apologize, make amends if necessary, and work with you so that our relationship is stronger than ever and discuss things so that I don’t easily damage our relationship in the same way by the same mistake again, if I can help it. Thanks for letting me know in a righteous way when I’m wrong. You can always do that. There’s always freedom to talk about how we can improve and work on our relationship. No subject is taboo. I’m ready and willing always.

You don’t quite know who Dad is at your age, but you’re growing in that. You see him all the time in us without realizing it. He will be the one that covers where I cannot. He always has your back, your front, your every side. He will never stop doing good to you and is ever biased TOWARDS you. Your middle name is Proclaim Goodness, and that’s talking about him and his heart towards you. I named you this so you would always know his goodness is your legacy to live and to share, that it would be your living reality that you abide in for all of your days.

Beloved, I adore you now, and as you grow, I am looking forward to getting to know you more and more and how I can best serve you, partner with you, and be your second best encourager, next to Dad Himself. All of the wisdom Dad has and continues to give me, it is yours. May you wield that wisely and add to it and give it away to the generation after you as He shows you to.

You are a myriad of multiple blessings to me. Thank you. You will never be a disappointment to me. You will never be discouragement to anyone except the enemy. I honor you. I accept you. I delight in you. I am so looking forward to all our adventures in Dad together this side of eternity and the next.

I will live this out towards you, but I also say it as often as I can, that I Love You.

The most joyful of birthdays this year to you, and may this year be your best one yet. There’s a lot of things your daddy and I have been working on, in secret, mainly for you. And this year, you’ll start to see some of it come to pass and keep on unfolding in the years to come. Part of our present to you, just for you. The best is yet to come, my Love.

With an ever growing, mind blowing, radiant Love,

~Mama, also known as Cherieann. ♥ ♥ ♥

Let the Living Water Flow

“…out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

Jn 7:38

When He found someone who was sick or spiritually oppressed, Jesus released the kingdom of God upon them. They were healed, set free of demonic oppression or they were given a new perspective of their value in God’s eyes. Notice how Jesus met people’s needs: He released the kingdom of God upon them.

Released.

The way a dam releases water when it opens.

There is a river flowing out of the throne of God that carries His presence wherever it goes. This river of life flows into you and I, bringing God’s presence, His glory and His kingdom to us. We are the dwelling place of God’s presence in the earth. His purpose for giving us the Holy Spirit is to turn us into people who carry and release His presence.

Just as Jesus manifested the character, the power and the glory of God to reveal and accomplish the Father’s will here on earth, we’re commissioned to do the same today. He is our example. We are gateways to the kingdom of God. When we open our gates, His presence flows out of us, bringing joy, peace, healing, deliverance, revelation, and other things that people need.

It’s a good idea from time to time to examine how well God’s presence is flowing in and out of us. The flow can be gauged by the fruit of the spirit that we produce. It can be restricted by things like bitterness, anger, fear, unbelief, and unforgiveness that act like rocks and sticks which clog up the flow. These attitudes also taint the flow with flavors that don’t represent God’s character. When they’re removed, we receive a greater inflow of His presence and it’s easier for it to flow out of us, untainted.

The life of the believer is one of being filled with God’s presence and releasing it to others.

Related:

God’s Power Grid

God’s Healing Presence

How Big is Your God Box?

Several friends have initiated public discussions recently about whether an experience or revelation must be found in the scriptures in order for it to be from God. I’d like to share a couple of observations that may help readers settle these issues in their minds.

I have no reason to doubt the sincerity of people who ask such questions. I believe they’re simply trying to avoid error. I think there is great value in using the Bible as a plumb line for doctrine and experiences. The Bereans were known for searching the scriptures to determine if the things they heard were true. I try as much as possible to follow their example, but not all of my experiences with God and revelation I received from Him were ones I could easily find examples of in the Bible. Although I applaud those who want to avoid error, I’d like to point out some inherent flaws with this approach, that if not recognized, may lead to a different kind of error. Allow me to illustrate:

If I were to ask you if there were any green Ford trucks in the city of Appleton Wisconsin, how would you know for certain if there were any?

Even if you lived in Appleton all of your life and even if you knew the city better than anyone else, your knowledge would not be adequate to determine with absolute certainty whether a green Ford truck were located somewhere in the city. There is only one way to know for certain. You’d have to examine every square inch of the city before you could confidently say they were none.

The same problem exists when we attempt to determine if something is mentioned in the Bible. Many believers feel their knowledge of the Bible is complete enough to answer such questions—after all, what good Christian doesn’t know their bible? But before we can know with absolute certainty whether something is mentioned in the Bible, we’d need to examine every jot and tittle of the scriptures. And searching an English translation will not suffice. The scriptures were not originally written in English, but Greek and Hebrew. Many of the words used in the original languages have no equivalent English word. In some cases the words used to translate certain passages only render an imperfect (at best) and in some cases, a completely wrong meaning when compared with the original intent of the writer.

Unless you happen to be a Greek or Hebrew scholar, chances are your knowledge of the scriptures is not sufficient to say with certainty whether an experience can found in the Bible. And if you can’t say with certainty whether something is there, you can’t answer the question beyond a reasonable doubt.

Restrictions We Place on God

We all apply filters to revelation and experiences that allow us to judge certain things as being “from God” while others are judged as being “not from God.” The restrictions we place on experiences and revelation tend to define our views of God, and they place Him in a kind of theological box. Inside the box is that which we’ve judged to be of God and everything outside the box is not. The real question behind these discussions is how big (or how small) is the box you’ve created for God?

Some people prefer a God who is boundless, unfathomable, and at times, a bit unpredictable. They’re willing to accept God on His own terms, even if they don’t always understand Him or the things He does. Although they often deny it, they place limitations on God but their limitations are less restrictive than the limitations others might have. There God box is pretty big.

Some believers are concerned that Satan might be doing things that are attributed to God. These people need clear definitions, reasonable rules for interpreting experiences, and non-negotiable guidelines by which the things of God can be evaluated. They prefer to confine God to a sphere that is safer and somewhat smaller. It’s a good idea to have some type of system by which we evaluate revelation and experiences, but some ways of doing it are better than others.

One safety net employed by believers is to restrict the actions of God to only that which can be found in the scriptures. The problem with applying this filter is that most of us aren’t expert enough in the scriptures to determine whether some things are biblical or not. I would agree that when things are clearly and consistently taught in the scriptures, we should let that settle the debate. But there are many things that are not discussed in the Bible and many places where the Bible offers conflicting views on a subject, depending on which verses you look at.

One example is the fact that James wrote that we are saved by works, while Paul wrote that we are save by grace. Another example is the observation that there is “nothing new under the sun.” This observation, which is a quote from Ecclesiastes, was made by Solomon who was attempting to find the meaning of life apart from God. His search led to frustration and the conclusion that “all is vanity; a chasing after the wind.”

Because much of the book views life apart from God, Ecclesiastes is a poor place from which to build doctrine. As to whether or not there is anything new under the sun, in the book of Revelation God  says, “Behold, I make all things new.” Here is a case where we have two verses of scripture in conflict with one another. One was made by a man seeking wisdom apart from God, and the other was God’s reply.

There are many conflicting passages found in the Bible and that creates a problem if it’s the only thing we’re using to determine whether an experience is from God. We may be misled if we fail to consider things like the context of a passage and what other passages on the same subject have to say.

Another safety net some Christians use is to define God in terms they can understand. This view is often expressed in statements like, “I can’t understand why God would need to do so and so…” What is revealed in these statements is the fact that some people need to understand the motives behind everything God does, and only that which seems logical (to them) is allowed. If they can’t understand something, it cannot be of God. (This is despite the Biblical admonition that we should not rely on our own understanding.)

Is There a Better Way?

Rather than evaluating experiences and revelation by our imperfect knowledge of scripture, or by what we can understand, we might instead use the method that was prescribed by Jesus.

Jesus taught that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Similarly, He taught that a pure spring cannot give polluted water nor can a  polluted spring give pure water. A tree bears fruit according to its nature. Likewise a spring gives water according to its nature. The origin (or nature) of an experience can be evaluated by examining the fruit that it bears.

If an experience is from God it will bear the fruit of the Spirit of God. According to Jesus, it cannot bear any other kind of fruit. These experiences will produce things like love, peace, joy, and kindness in the people who have them. If the fruit of the Spirit is not being produced we have reason to doubt that they are from God.

In case you’re wondering, in no way am I trying to undermine the authority of the Bible. I believe that the scriptures in their original language are inspired and authoritative on the issues they address. But the Bible is not a complete description of everything God has ever done or that He ever will do. I’m not suggesting that we should not use the Bible to validate our experiences. I’m only suggesting that we should not limit the validation process exclusively to the Bible. Examining the fruit that comes from an experience or revelation is just as valuable as examining what the  scriptures have to say about it.

Shadow Healing

One winter morning there was a traffic jam on my drive to work, but rather than get stressed about it, I cued up some music on my iPod and got drenched by the Holy Spirit. As drivers crept slowly toward the pile of cars that lie motionless on the freeway in the rain, I immersed myself in an incredible time of worship and thanked God for lifting me out of the period of spiritual dryness I had been in.

Not long after I arrived at work, my partner and I responded on a call to Northeast Tacoma. We got in our ambulance and made our way north of the downtown area through the mud-covered tide flats then turned a corner and climbed the long hill that overlooks the port. We crested the hill and a few minutes later, arrived on scene. Inside the apartment building we found the crew from engine three interviewing a middle-aged woman as she held a wad of tissue to her nose.

I looked at the lieutenant. “What’s the story, morning glory?”

“Donna here has a pretty good nosebleed. We checked it when we first got on scene about ten minutes ago and she was still bleeding. It’s been going on for about two hours.”

“Hi Donna,” I said as I introduced myself. “I have a few questions for you, if that’s okay. First tell me this… have you ever had nosebleeds like this before?”

“Just once… about a year ago. My nose bled for a couple of hours and I had to go to the hospital and have it cauterized.”

“I see. Are you taking any blood thinners right now?”

“Just aspirin. My doctor increased the dose a few days ago. Do you think that might be the problem?”

“Could be, but it’s hard to say. You didn’t take a fall or have any kind of trauma, did you?”

“No.”

I had a few more minor questions to ask and I watched her carefully as we talked. She kept checking to see if there was any more blood coming from her nose, but it seemed like the bleeding had stopped.

I only have one more question for you. “Is your nose still bleeding or has it stopped?”

She held a tissue to her nose then pulled it away. “Well look at that,” She said. “It seems to have stopped.”

“Are you sure?”

She grabbed a new tissue from the box and held it to her nose then checked it. There was no blood on it. “I’m certain of it. I’m not bleeding anymore.”

“Well that is strange, isn’t it?” I asked.

“You know what’s really strange about this? I think the bleeding stopped a minute or two after you got here,” she said.

The lieutenant asked Donna if she wanted to go to the hospital or stay home. “I guess I’ll stay home. No sense in going to the hospital if I’m not bleeding.”

“You’re welcome to go in and get checked if you want,” the lieutenant advised her.

“No… I think I’ll stay home.”

He had her sign a release form then one of the firefighters tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey man, we could use your magic powers. Any chance you guys could go on our calls with us today?”

The other firefighter joined him. “That’s what we need! A medic who does miracles! We can wait for him to show up and get people healed—then no one will need to be transported!”

The lieutenant looked at me. “What’s your unit number again? I might request you guys to go on all our calls with us. It sure would make things a lot easier.”

Even though they were joking, the guys knew there was something supernatural going on. “Really funny guys,” I replied. “But I don’t think dispatch will let me follow you around all day. So, Lieutenant, do you need us to stick around or can we clear?

“Looks like your work here is done. I guess you can clear. Thanks for your help.”

“All in a day’s work, Lieutenant. See ya on the next one.”

“I sure hope so.”

My partner walked with me to the ambulance. “Care to explain what that was all about?” He asked.

“Well she has a nosebleed for two hours and everyone’s thinking she’s going to have to go to the hospital to have her nose cauterized. Then we show up and a few minutes later the bleeding stops. I guess they thought one of us had something to do with it.”

“Why would they think we had anything to do with it?”

“There’s a story in the Bible, I believe it’s in Acts, Chapter 5, where sick people were brought out into the streets because people believed that if the shadow of Peter fell across them, they would be healed. Apparently, they knew the sick could be healed by the mere presence of someone who carried God’s power walking past them.”

“And they think one of us has that kind of power?”

“Yes they do. Pretty crazy, huh?”

As we drove back to town I wondered if that was what we had just seen. The firefighters were convinced that it was, but I wasn’t completely sold on the idea yet. In spite of my doubts, I thanked God for His great mercy and healing power.

This is an excerpt from my book My Craziest Adventures With God – Volume 1

Are You Authorized?

My last few posts had to do with the subject of authority. The take home message from those articles is that each of us has been granted authority from God in a number of different areas. Metaphorically, these areas can be thought of as mountains. While it’s helpful to know what specific subjects Jesus has given us authority over, it’s also good to know the areas He has not given us authority over and what the consequences are when we get involved in things outside our scope of authority.

A few years ago I had a dream where Jesus came to the church to check the credentials of people who were teaching others about God. Those who were teaching without being authorized by Him were in a bit of trouble. The primary issue He was concerned with was authorization.  A secondary issue was the content that people were teaching. Many false ideas about God were being taught by people who weren’t authorized by Him. Along with the Lord’s authorization of someone to speak on a subject, came the content of their message. The fact that they needed to be authorized to speak on certain subjects came as a surprise to most people, even though Jesus warned us about this.

Social networking has become a global platform for anyone who wants to share their opinions about God. You don’t have to look very far to see people publicly preaching their ideas about what or who God loves and hates. We’re bombarded with theological opinions everywhere we go, and apparently, Jesus is listening to what we’re saying.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned that Jesus is very interested in the things I say. What I’m authorized to speak on as a representative of my King is pretty limited. I’m authorized to speak on healing, deliverance, prophetic ministry, dreams, and a few other things, but the list is fairly small. I have opinions about things like tithing, the rapture, abortions, etc. I think I know what the bible says about them and I could offer my views if I wanted to, but God hasn’t authorized me to speak on them. He hasn’t given me specific revelation on them. Since I know that His authorization on a subject carries with it His revelation, the things He shares with me I’m willing to share with others, but the things He’s silent on, I try to remain silent on. I don’t want to to step outside the realm of authority He has authorized. One of the sticky points of  being granted authority is that in addition to giving us freedom to speak on certain issues, it restrains us from speaking on other issues. Jesus modeled this restraint by only saying what the Father authorized Him to say and doing what the Father authorized Him to do.

Due to our unique personalities, gifts, talents and life experiences, God authorizes each of us differently. Those who have been authorized to speak on a subject are given God’s heart on that subject, the right life experiences and the right message. God also provides an audience with ears to hear the message. Having God’s authorization to speak on a subject creates a favorable environment. Those who speak on subjects He has authorized tend to bear good fruit. Those who speak without His authorization bear the fruit of the flesh. Their messages tend to create discord, division, and enmity. Since God is not the author of confusion, if there is confusion surrounding a message there’s a good chance that someone who is not authorized is doing the talking.

I’m often asked questions about things which God has given me no authority to speak on. An example is generation sins and curses. While I know people who have personal revelation from God on these subjects, I can’t think of a single thing God has revealed to me about them. So when people ask me I simply tell them, “I have no revelation on that,” and point them to people who have received revelation on it. There’s no shame in admitting to your ignorance on a subject. If you give people counsel that isn’t from God, you’re probably going to lead them astray. I think it’s wiser to say nothing on subjects we’re not authorized to speak on.

My suggestion (if you’re looking for one) is pretty simple: Check with Jesus and ask Him what you are and aren’t authorized to speak on and make a list. Once you have clear direction from Him, ask Him to reveal His heart on those issues and confine your conversations to those which He has authorized you to speak on. Then watch how He moves through you.

There has been enough positive feedback on the last few articles to suggest that a book on power and authority would be helpful. I’m working on the manuscript right now. If you’d like to be notified when the book Power and Authority Made Simple is available, sign up for my book updates using the widget in the right sidebar.

Related:

Authority – How Does it Work?

Bogren – Seated on the Throne

Power and Authority for Healing

The Legacy of Adam

The Intruder

 

 

 

 

Authority – How Does it Work?

There seems to be growing interest in the subject of authority these days.  I read the other night where an exasperated woman said she was “claiming her authority” over a desperate situation, as if this might help resolve her problem. I think statements like this reveal part of the problem with our understanding of authority. Most of us know we’ve been given authority from God, but we don’t know how it works.

One thing to consider is the relational aspect of authority. It is often (though not always) the case that authority is permission granted to one person to represent the interests of another person who prefers not to manage their affairs personally. Authority is granted by one person and exercised by another. This arrangement makes authority dependent upon a relationship of trust.

The authority that a person receives usually gives them freedom to make decisions without requiring special permission before exercising their authority.  Authority is permission to act without permission. The exercise of authority is generally at the complete discretion of the one to whom it was granted, even if the exercise of authority is not wise, or beneficial to the one they represent. The one who has been granted authority has the right to make both good and bad decisions. Generally, the wise exercise of authority provides opportunity for promotion to a higher level of authority, while poor exercise of authority leads to a reduction or complete removal of it.

The concept of authority is illustrated in the kingdom parables where Jesus spoke about servants who were given charge of their master’s affairs while their masters were away.  (For examples see the parable of the faithful and wicked servants in Matt 24 and the parable of the talents in Matt 25.)

I’d like to illustrate how authority works in everyday life:

A shift supervisor who works at a factory has authority over the operations on his shift, which might include personnel management, scheduling, ordering supplies and resolving employee disputes. But his authority is restricted to the hours that he is at work and to the specific factory he works at. He doesn’t have the same authority during another supervisor’s shift or at a different factory. His scope of authority is limited and it is also relational. It was granted to him and can be revoked by the manager of the factory if trust is eroded.

The manager of the factory has similar authority. It is likewise limited to the factory he works at, and it is relational. The CEO of the company is the one who grants his authority and it can be removed at the CEO’s discretion. The CEO has similar authority. It may have been granted by the company’s board of directors, who were appointed by the shareholders. His authority gives him the right to make major decisions involving the company’s interests and it can be revoked at their discretion. Everyone in the chain has authority that is given to them by someone else. Any of them can be promoted if they exercise their authority well, or have their authority removed if they exercise it poorly.

Christians have been given a multitude of different types and levels of authority. As God’s personal representatives on earth, our authority encompasses many areas, but unlike in the world where people are given authority over other people, we are not given such authority. Some people will disagree, but the New Testament believer is subject only to the authority of Christ. We do not have other humans in authority over us. While we may have teachers and people who encourage and train us, these individuals do not exercise authority over other believers. Authority that is exercised over individuals is the model that has been used throughout history by governments and military institutions. It was specifically this model of authority that Jesus said would not be allowed among His disciples.

Instead Jesus gave us authority over such things as sickness, disease, and storms, and each of us is given authority to speak on certain subjects. (That will be discussed in my next message.)

Some of us are given authority to influence the communities of music and art. Others are given authority to influence the fields of physics and chemistry, while still others have authority to represent God’s interests in the field of medicine. These are just a few examples of the areas of society God grants us authority to operate in. As we identify the areas of authority that God has granted to us and as we represent His interests in accordance with His desires, our level of authority increases.

The relationship we have with God is the key to it all. We must begin by asking Him what areas we’ve been given authority in. That requires us to develop the ability to communicate with Him. Next, we must learn how He wants us to exercise our authority in those areas. Again – this requires a deeper relationship. As our relationship grows, we’ll be given more details about how He wants us to exercise the authority He gives us with wisdom and righteousness.

Related:

Bogren – Seated on the Throne

Power and Authority for Healing

The Legacy of Adam

The Intruder

Will You Come With Me?

This is a re-post of a message written by John Eldgredge that was originally posted here.

January 2015

Dear Friends,

I am among the millions who have fallen in love with the Chronicles of Narnia.

We shared them as a family when our boys were young, and we continue to love them as adults. In fact, Stasi and I are currently reading aloud book six, The Silver Chair to each other in the evenings. I’m struck this time around by how just how dangerous an adventure the children are tasked with. In chapter two, they meet Aslan on his own mountain, and Jill is told why he has summoned them:

And now hear your task. Far from here in the land of Narnia there lives an aged king who is sad because he has no prince of his blood to be king after him. He has no heir because his only son was stolen from him many years ago, and no one in Narnia knows where that prince went or whether he is still alive. But he is. I lay on you this command, that you seek this lost prince until either you have found him and brought him to his father’s house, or else died in the attempt, or else gone back into your own world.

Wait—that second piece: died in the attempt?! My goodness. These are grave orders for a couple of ten-year-olds. Aslan is the best, kindest, most Jesus-like figure you’ll ever meet in literature. This is the sort of story he has for them? Would you send your fifth-grader off to Somalia? And yet, I think Lewis was onto something very true about the character of God. The children are being called up.

You see a similar theme in The Hobbit. Gandalf arranges for young Bilbo Baggins to join a company of dwarves on their quest to recover the Lonely Mountain, and the treasure that lies buried in its halls. The young hobbit has never held a sword, never slept outdoors, never even been beyond the borders of the Shire. He loves books, tea time, his armchair, and he always carries a handkerchief. Furthermore, Gandalf does not know for certain whether or not the dragon Smaug—“chiefest and greatest of all calamities”—is lying there in dreadful malice. Now remember, Gandalf loves Bilbo, loves him dearly, yet he is sending him on a very dangerous adventure. He says to Bilbo that if he does return, “You will not be the same.”

Which brings me to one of the most important truths we can hold onto as we try and interpret our lives: God is growing us all up.

“…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature…” (Ephesians 4:13).

As George McDonald assured us, “What father is not pleased with the first tottering attempt of his little one to walk?” And, God is absolutely committed to your growing up: “What father would be satisfied with anything but the manly step of the full-grown son or daughter?”

It helps us to understand why Jesus keeps changing the picture in our lives; he keeps introducing “new frontiers” to each of us. Just when you think you’ve got parenting down, your kids enter into a new stage; just when you think you’ve got a pretty good grasp on your inner world, Jesus shows you something that needs healing. Relationships are always changing; church life changes; your body, your income—my goodness, can you think of anything that doesn’t change?

And have you wondered why—why does God arrange for new frontiers to always be cropping up in our lives? Because God is growing us all up.

But here is the problem—most of us do not share God’s fervent passion for our maturity. Really, now, if you stopped ten people at random on their way out of church next Sunday and polled them, I doubt very much that you would find one in ten who said, “Oh, my first and greatest commitment this afternoon is to mature!” Our natural investments lie in other things—lunch, a nap, the game, our general comfort. Like Bilbo.

God is growing me up changes your expectations. When you show up at the gym, you are not surprised or irritated that the trainer pushes you into a drenching sweat; it’s what you came for. But you’d be furious if your housemate expected this of you when you flop home on the couch after a long day’s work. Bilbo hesitates; he’s not sure he wants this new frontier being offered him. I think we can all relate.

And that is why, as I was praying for you, and asking Jesus what he wanted to say, he said this: Will you come with me?

God almost always has some “new frontier” for us—something he is inviting us into, new ground he wants us to take, or a new realm of understanding; maybe a move in our external world, or a shift in our internal world; might be a new “spiritual” frontier. Sometimes those new frontiers are thrust upon us; sometimes we choose them willingly. Either way, God is taking us into new frontiers because he is growing us up. This will help you interpret what’s going on.

Where is Jesus inviting you here in 2015? Have you asked him? Maybe he’s already put it on your heart—what new realm would you like to grown into? We are finishing a four-part series on “New Frontiers” on our podast this month; I think you’ll find it very helpful as you (perhaps reluctantly) accept yours.

Now for a word of hope: towards the end of their adventure, Jill is brought to tears by the redemption that unfolds. And the next line in the book brought me to tears:

“Their quest had been worth all the pains it cost.”

That will help you answer Jesus when he says to you, Will you come with me?

Offered in hope and love,

John